The talk coming into Calgary Stampeders training camp should have revolved around the possibility of a three-peat.

Instead, the team will break camp Sunday with a sizeable elephant in the room, thanks to a second consecutive Grey Cup collapse last winter.

Head coach Dave Dickenson spent the off-season debating how to use the latest setback as fuel, motivation or simply as a reminder of how not to play the game.

After all, you can’t ignore it.

If there was ever any question the coach would tackle the obvious narrative head on, it was answered when he revealed Tuesday he was bringing retired Stamps receiver Marquay McDaniel back as a guest coach.

It was McDaniel, as you recall, who called out young receiver Kamar Jorden for a careless fumble late in last year’s snowy Grey Cup that saw the Argos scoop up the ball and run 109 yards for a game-tying touchdown.

His shockingly honest assessment of Jorden’s egregious gaffe had many believing the two couldn’t co-exist in Calgary moving forward.

They were right, but that didn’t stop Dickenson from bringing in McDaniel as an observer to help kick-start a rookie coaching campaign with McMaster.

The way Dickenson sees it, all his men need to revisit the team’s Grey Cup goof, is by way of video clips from the game he’ll be showing in camp.

“I’m not going to embarrass them, but I’m not shying away from that video,” said Dickenson, whose team has combined for a 28-6-2 record the last two seasons with no championship rings to show for it.

“I don’t know if I’m going to show that specific play but I won’t shy away from what we need to do to win games. I’m not trying to open up a wound, but there are plays in there we’ve got to learn.

“It’s not going to not get talked about.”

He’s certainly got that right.

The narrative for Calgary football fans is simple – the Stamps are expected to excel once again, only to do what this franchise is best known for – faltering in the big game.

So what role does the coach let the latest gut-punch play in setting the tone for the season?

“You’re a new team with new players, but there are enough people here and continuity that I think you have to at least talk about it in a sense of ‘can we learn something from it?’” said Dickenson.

“Can we use anything from that game – not necessarily motivation, but game situations, game managements, good or bad football type of plays? Body language.

“So I’ve done a lot of work in the off-season trying to find the right mix, the right film to show the guys to become the team we want to be.

“My whole point though is if you think you’re going to focus on getting back to the Grey Cup and avenging a loss you’re going to miss out on a lot that’s happening right in front of you. And you’re not going to get there.

“I thought we did an excellent job of that last year – just getting better and making each week important and improving and letting things kind of fall where they fall. And we did get back there, we just didn’t win.”

Dickenson has had a steady diet of established players disappear from his roster throughout the off-season, including special teams star Roy Finch, sack-master Charleston Hughes, running beast Jerome Messam, defensive back Josh Bell and backup quarterback Andrew Buckley.

He admits he hasn’t a clue who his running back will be, nor does he has a clear picture of who will fill the shoes of other established veterans who’ve departed.

Yet, in a football factory like Calgary’s the expectation is that the Stamps will still be an early Grey Cup favourite.

“Well, I think so, yes – I’m not going to shy away from that,” said Dickenson, who can sleep well knowing he still has Bo Levi Mitchell as his starting quarterback.

“Does it help you win any games? No, but we think we’ve got a good squad and have as good a chance as anybody.

“For us it’s important to come in confident. Honestly, I’m looking forward to this season as much as any year I’ve coached.

“There is a lot of change and we’ve lost a lot of guys. We lost a tough Grey Cup and all of that makes me want to get out on the field and work hard and see if we can build something.”

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